Handheld Addict

Friday, January 22, 2010

Nintendo Game & Watch series - Donkey Kong II

The other day I had to do some cleaning out of a storage room, and I came across one of my old handheld system from waaaaay back. Presenting from Nintendo's Game & Watch series-- Donkey Kong II! (click on pics to view larger)

I like how on the bottom right corner it says "MULTI SCREEN".... hmm, is that something like.... Dual Screen???

We all know that Sony recycled the basic design of the PSPgo from the Sony Mylo.... but it's clear here that Nintendo is no stranger to recycling designs themselves. When I first saw the DS Lite I was immediately reminded of my old Donkey Kong II game, but I couldn't remember where it was.... so today I decided to compare the two.

The game premise of Donkey Kong II is that Donkey Kong Jr. must rescue his dad, who's chained on the top screen by Mario! I know Donkey Kong kinda deserved it after kidnapping Mario's (then) girlfriend Pauline and throwing all those barrels down on him in the original Donkey Kong game, but who knew Mario was so vindictive??

DK Jr throws a key from the bottom to the top screen, then jumps over snappers, electric sparks and once at the top screen he throws the key again (randomly) to one of the 4 chain's locks. He dodges ravens as he climbs up the vine (can't go from vine to vine, only straight up/down) and unlocks each chain one at a time until all 4 are done. Then Donkey Kong falls off the side of the platform he's on and DK Jr catches him! The cycle repeats.

There are 2 difficulty settings: "Game A" and "Game B". The graphics are LCD cutouts, and there's no backlight, so you need really good lighting to see things properly. And that's about all there is to it. Oh yeah-- when not playing the game, it shows the time, and there's an alarm setting as well. What more do you need from a handheld in the mid-'80's?

My DK II handheld has a broken clasp; it was originally a thin plastic clasp on the top panel that snapped the 2 panels locked. I remember it having a white discoloration from the plastic being stressed. I'm not sure how it broke off completely... must've happened in storage.

It takes 2 LR-44 watch/calculator batteries in it, which I picked up from London Drugs. Since there's not real "graphics" to speak of, I imagine the power consumption requirements are pretty low and it should have a fairly long battery life.

A fun little memory burn and a reminder that I've been a handheld addict for a lot longer than getting my first PSP in 2006.....

UPDATE: there's actually a flash version of the game! That's pretty cool, that's pretty much what it is like, though the colours aren't as vivid.